Because You're Mine(45)

Fiona hugged her when she met them at the entry. “You look blooming wonderful. Marriage must agree with you.”

“Love your new necklace,” Alanna said, eyeing the polished amber stones strung around her friend’s neck. She hugged Ena, whose usual morose expression had lightened to a faint grin at the sight of her.

Ena fingered her pink hair. “Is Grady around?”

“Somewhere.” There was definitely interest between them.

Ciara emerged last from the van with Jesse in tow. Alanna went still when she saw the man. There would be time to interrogate him later. She hugged Ciara, then beckoned them all to the house. “Grab your things and come along. I’ve got the perfect space.”

By the time the creaky old lift had transported the instruments to the third floor, the band’s voices had risen with the excitement of being together. The harp had to be carried up the main staircase by Jesse and two of the women. “We can be as loud as we want up here.”

She watched Jesse set up the drums. He arranged them exactly as she’d seen Liam do a thousand times, and her irritation grew. He tested them in the same order as Liam too. Gritting her teeth, she set to making sure her fiddle was in tune.

“Let’s get to practice,” she said. She dragged her bow across the strings, then broke into a reel.

“Go, Alanna!” Ciara yelled. She pulled her chair closer to her harp.

Ena lifted her pennywhistle. “What first?” she asked.

“‘Last Rose of Summer,’” Jesse said. He started the drum intro.

Alanna nodded and followed his lead. Before the drums faded to the softer part of the song, Barry stood red-faced at the top of the stairs.

“What’s going on?” he shouted. “The sound is piped directly into my office.”

Staring at her husband’s angry face, Alanna realized Patricia had to have known how the sound carried. She’d been set up.





Twenty


Let’s get to the bottom of this.” Barry took Alanna’s arm and marched her down the steps. “Mother just came in from a hair appointment. She is cooking lunch.”

“Did the noise interrupt you?” Alanna asked as she struggled to keep up with her husband.

“The house is designed so music wafts into the office. My great-grandfather designed it that way on purpose so he could monitor what was going on in the ballroom even if he had to be attending to business. So yes, I had to end my call prematurely.”

They reached the first floor. The aroma of she-crab soup hung in the air. Barry led her across to the kitchen where they found a flushed Patricia stirring a pot at the stove.

Patricia glanced up with a smile that quickly faltered when her gaze lit on Barry. “What’s wrong, son?”

“You tell me.” He dropped his grip on Alanna, then folded his arms over his chest. “Why did you tell Alanna to practice in the ballroom when she told you I needed quiet for a conference call?”

Patricia pushed a lock of hair from her moist face. “Why, I never told her any such thing. I told her not to practice up there, whatever she did. That the noise would travel right to you.”

The glib lie snatched away the protest in Alanna’s gaping mouth. Patricia’s expression was so disbelieving of her son’s accusation that for a minute Alanna wondered if she’d misheard her mother-in-law. Then she remembered the dumbwaiter. “That’s not true, Patricia. You even showed me where to find the dumbwaiter so I could get the instruments up to the third floor. I couldn’t be knowing where it was otherwise.”

“Of course you did,” Patricia said. “I found you exploring it this morning. I warned you to be quiet up there.”

Alanna’s jaw sagged. She’d never met anyone who could lie so convincingly. And she had no way to prove Patricia had set her up.

Barry stared at his mother. “You’re lying.”

“Of course you’d believe that little tart,” his mother spat.

“I’ll not be listening to this.” Alanna started for the stairs. She blinked at the moisture in her eyes. Why was everyone so hostile?

She marched up the steps to her bedroom. Nothing could convince her to remain in this house any longer. It would take only a minute to grab her few belongings and leave with her friends. She jerked her big suitcase out from under the bed, then went to the dresser and lifted an armful of clothing from the drawer. Her attempt to hold the tears at bay failed, and big drops slipped down her cheeks.

“What are you doing?”

She turned to see Barry in the doorway with his brows knit together. “I’m leaving right now,” she said, turning back to her packing. She heard his footsteps start toward her but continued to the closet to grab her hanging clothes. When she turned, she plowed into him.

His arms closed around her, and he buried his face in her hair. “Don’t leave,” he whispered. “I need you.”

Alanna struggled to maintain her anger. “You thought I’d lie to you.”

“Of course I didn’t. I wanted her to admit she lied. I never doubted you.”

She pulled away from him so she could see his face. “Why would your mother be such a blackguard?”

His hand smoothed her curls. “There are always bumps in the road when you try to find your place in a new family.”